Hello, could someone please tell me why 5.1 channels can be sent through one coax. or optical cable from DVD's but the same can not be done with SACD or DVD Audio I am new to these mediums

It's because 5.1 through coax / optical is encoded in Dolby digital or DTS which are standard formats that everyone has agreed on and is well documented.... Theoretically sacd and dvd-a could be sent through one cable, but there's not been one standard created for transferring the data... so the simple workaround is to let the players output the high res format to analog and then connect the individual channels to amplifiers (or 5.1 input on a preamp or reciever)....

Yeah, what Unferth said... Copy protection concerns from the RIAA have led to the demand that DVD-A and SACD digital data not be allowed to leave the player without some as-yet unidentified layer of encryption. As a result, the player has to handle D/A conversion internally and output the six analog signals.

There has been some progress in changing this, but nothing particularly universal yet. Expect the digital interface to be IEEE-1394 or something similar when it does arrive, rather than the coax and optical digital cables we're using for existing digital signals.

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It bears mentioning that though there are no open standards for it, there are some proprietary ones, such as the i.Link method used by Pioneer Elite and, I think, Denon.

That means that if you absolutely must have a digital multi-channel connection now, you could go with Pioneer Elite or the others. Failing that, you can buy something else.

However, keep in mind that once a new connection is ratified, it's not a guarantee that whoever makes your receiver or pre-amp will provide an upgrade to support it, and unless you've got a Meridian player, it's not likely your DVD-A/SACD player manufacturer will, either.

Annoying, isn't it?

Jeff


[This message has been edited by D'Arbignal (edited May 21, 2003).]